Bush: Troops will not withdraw on my watch


Mr Bush said the resolve of terrorists had been strengthened by the hesitant US response to the hostage crisis with Iran in 1979, the bombing of US marines barracks in Lebanon four years later, and the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre.

"The terrorists concluded we lacked the courage and character to defend ourselves," Mr Bush said. "The only way the terrorists can win is if we lose our nerve and abandon the mission. For the safety and security of the American people, that's not going to happen on my watch."

Mr Bush spoke at the defence department after receiving a briefing on the global "war on terror", focusing mainly on Iraq and Afghanistan.

With a large anti-war march expected this weekend, Mr Bush acknowledged that there were differences of opinion about Iraq and that some wanted the US to withdraw to escape more violence.

"I recognise their good intentions but their position is wrong," the president said. "Withdrawing our troops would make the world more dangerous."

He said a pullout would embolden US adversaries and allow Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden "to dominate the Middle East and launch more attacks on America and other free nations".

Mr Bush acknowledged the deaths of more than 1,900 Americans in Iraq and said "we'll honour their sacrifice by completing the mission and winning the war on terrorism".

"The battle lines are drawn and there is no middle ground," he said. "If we fail that test, the consequences for the safety and security of the American people would be enormous. Our withdrawal from Iraq would allow the terrorists to claim an historic victory over the United States."

Mr Bush also said 18,000 US troops serving in Afghanistan had not yet finished their mission.

"The international community is helping Afghanistan become a lasting democracy," he said. "There are still terrorists who seek to overthrow the young government. You see, they want to return Afghanistan to what it was under the Taliban.

Meanwhile, the governor of Basra, Mohammed al-Waili, today threatened to halt cooperation with British forces until Tony Blair apologised for the storming of a prison in the southern Iraqi city.

Mr al-Waili also demanded compensation for the damage caused when British forces destroyed part of the prison compound on Monday following the detention of two undercover SAS soldiers.

The incident happened as a mission to rescue the soldiers from a nearby house was mounted amid British claims that the men were to be summarily executed by local militia.

The Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, called the attack by British forces "a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty".

It raised concerns that radical Shia militias with close ties to Iran had developed substantial power in the region around Basra.

Elsewhere in Iraq today, a roadside bomb hit a US convoy in southern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding six, while insurgents gunned down at least eight Iraqis in four separate attacks, officials said.